I count myself fortunate because my family and I are safe. A tornado passed within a mile or so of where two of my grandchildren were sleeping. Thank God for their safety. Many others were less fortunate. Within an hour's drive of me there were 20 or so folks who were killed. The city of Ringgold is shut off from the outside world by felled trees, gas leaks and looters. That's what I heard, anyway. There are many areas where rescue workers can't reach trapped people because of hundreds of downed trees.
I was out in the mess until almost daylight, dealing with recalcitrant pumps, power outages and failed communication equipment. Here at the green retreat there were some tree limbs lying around, heavy rain and standing water but no tornado. Ten miles south of the house a tornado was on the ground for a distance of 6 miles and killed several people. One area I was in last night looked like a war zone. A major state highway with a small army of guys slowly cutting an opening through hundreds of downed trees that blocked the road. Many of them were not professional rescue people but just 'good ole boys' who grabbed their chain saws and went to work. The term 'Salt of the Earth' comes to mind when I think of them.
As I write this I can hear helicopters to the south. Who knows, the governor may be in one of them, surveying the damage.
The sky is the most brilliant blue this morning and I suppose that the great storm blew a lot of pollution to some other place. Seems like a high price to pay for cleaner air.
From the author's green retreat, I'm CE Wills.
I was out in the mess until almost daylight, dealing with recalcitrant pumps, power outages and failed communication equipment. Here at the green retreat there were some tree limbs lying around, heavy rain and standing water but no tornado. Ten miles south of the house a tornado was on the ground for a distance of 6 miles and killed several people. One area I was in last night looked like a war zone. A major state highway with a small army of guys slowly cutting an opening through hundreds of downed trees that blocked the road. Many of them were not professional rescue people but just 'good ole boys' who grabbed their chain saws and went to work. The term 'Salt of the Earth' comes to mind when I think of them.
As I write this I can hear helicopters to the south. Who knows, the governor may be in one of them, surveying the damage.
The sky is the most brilliant blue this morning and I suppose that the great storm blew a lot of pollution to some other place. Seems like a high price to pay for cleaner air.
From the author's green retreat, I'm CE Wills.
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